Resumen de O comportamento da defesa da selecção de espanha no torneio de andebol nos jogos olímpicos de pequim 2008. Análise sequencial no método organizado de jogo de andebol em situação de 6x6
Studies related to defensive performance in handball are rare. The author's experience as an handball coach and while a coach educator in Portugal allowed him to identify the absence of defense-related contents related to the teaching and learning process, and time devoted to its practice.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the defensive behavior of the Spanish Handball team in the Beijing Olympic Games, during the organized game method in 6x6 situations, using sequential analysis to detect temporal patterns.
The main goals of this study were: a) to build and validate a defense observation system for the organized game method (SODMO, Portuguese-language acronym) and b) to analyze the defensive sequences of the Spanish national handball team, in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, identifying: the methods for ball recovery and the behavioral sequence of defensive players prior to it, regarding the match's score board at the time, the final result of the match, and the overall competition results.
The observational methodology was used in this study since it allows to observe, registry and analyze data from perceptive interaction conducts in a natural context situation and to build an observation instrument combining the category system and the field format. The study design was ideographic, longitudinal and multidimensional.
The observational sample of this study is composed by 3511 events registered during the organized defensive method, in the seven games of the Spanish national handball team in the tournament. The software package Theme was used to perform sequential analysis and detect temporal patterns.
The main findings showed that (1) it was possible to obtain 33 T-patterns from the defensive behavior of the Spanish national handball team in the Beijing Olympic Games; (2) the displacement of the defense was the most observed behavior; (3) the 6:0 defensive system was the most used by the Spanish national team; (4) a goal differential of 5 or more in the match score board defined the outcome of the match; (5) most of the detected patterns sequence showed that the ball recovery was made after a conceded goal, regardless the match outcome, scoreboard at the time, defense system, or competition stage.
It's also intended as a contribution towards the improvement of coaching and sports agents' education, applying the gathered data in a 3D simulator of defensive and offensive interaction context, using the Second Life® virtual world.
Key words: Match analysis, Handball, Defense
